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All of her life, Halle Berry has been
valued for her beauty. She was an adorable child, grew up to be a beauty
contest winner and is currently Revlon’s ravishing spokeswoman. But
Halle Berry’s greatest achievement has been proving time and time
again, that she has the talent and the brains to be more than just a
beautiful face! She was born August 14, 1968, in Cleveland, Ohio. Her
mother, Judith was (*and still is) a nurse in a psychiatric ward, but
her father has been absent from most of Halle’s life. He left the
family when she was four, returning when she was eight. The second time
around, he beat Halle’s sister, mother, and even the family dog. Halle
has no contact with her father to this day due to his inexcusable
behavior.
Halle’s mixed-race heritage was immediately an issue in the Midwest.
She had to deal with the taunts of other children, black and white; and
also thanks to her beauty, she received a lot of resentment. In high
school, she was chosen queen of the prom but was accused of stuffing the
ballot box. *The uproar was handled with a frustrating transparent
solution: Halle was forced to share the title-with a W.A.S.P (white,
Anglo-Saxon Protestant) blonde. Despite such a humilitaing and unfair
attack, Halle began competing in formal beauty contests, and winning
many. Her first win was as Miss Teen All-American, and she went on to
win the coveted title of Miss Ohio! She may have not been good enough
for high school, but she was officially the most beautiful woman in the
state! As Miss Ohio, Halle won the chance to compete in the 1986 Miss
USA Pageant. She dazzled the judges with her poise and her stunning
evening gown and swimsuit, so it came as no surprise that she made it
all the way to the finals. She was chosen as first runner-up, which in
the Miss USA is even more important than in other national pageants
because, while the winner goes on to compete for the title of Miss
Universe, the first runner up competes for Miss World. Halle didn’t
win Miss World, but she did walk away from the pageant years with enough
money to pull herself through community college (majoring in broadcast
journalism) and a lot of invaluable experience on-camera and in high
pressure situations. Halle was about to embark on an acting career that
would eventually make her one of the most famous former title-holders of
all time, ranking right up there with Vanessa L. Williams.
Halle started by knocking down a high-profile leading role on a
glamorous TV sitcom. Not bad for a first-timer! The show, Living Dolls,
was about four, young struggling models. Halle played "Emily
Franklin" in this unsuccessful spin-off from Tonya Danza’s Whose
the Boss? She enjoyed playing the most serious of the four women, a girl
who longed to be a doctor instead of dreaming only of the fame on the
catwalk. Unfortunately, nobody watched, and the plug was pulled on
Living Dolls after only three months. Halle next appeared in the
memorable role as "Debbie Porter" on Knots Landing in 1991,
one of the televisions most-watched nighttime soaps. TV was good to
Halle, and she would return to it later, after conquering more
challenging roles roles in film. Halle Berry’s first movie almost
never happened. She was hired to star in the comedy Strictly Business
(1991), but was almost immediately fired by the director. The reason?
She wasn’t "black enough!" Halle was outraged, but was
relieved when the director himself was axed and she was rehired by his
replacement. Black audiences warmed up to Halle Berry, and producers
kept her phone ringing off the hook. She scored a solid part in The Last
Boy Scout (1991) and would star in a series of mostly light-hearted
popcorn films, like Boomerang (1992), The Program (1993) and Fatherhood
(1993). But Halle also proved she was interested in stretching as an
actress. She didn’t want to be seen as just window dressing. Her
portrayal of a crack addict in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever (1992) won her
critical acclaim, and she proved herself an effective dramatic lead
opposite Jessica Lange in the heat-lugging drama Losing Isaiah (1993).
Both films dealt with the kinds of racial insults Halle has dealt with
her whole life.
Halle’s personal life was blooming along with her career. She had been
through many abusive relationships, including one in which a man beat
her so merciless that she lost [80%] in her left ear, in 1993 she met
and fell in love with Atlanta Braves outfielder David Justice. Despite
her fear that she would never learn how to have a stale relationship,
Halle proposed to Justice six months after they met. The couple had a
fair tale wedding and were regularly featured in magazines as one of the
most beautiful celebrity couples. Sadly their marriage faultered in less
than three years ending bitterly. The couple announced on February 22,
1996, that their union was over. The story behind their breakup was
tragic, and it left Halle very vulnerable. She’d thought she was
saying "I do" forever, but was depressed to find that her
husband was less than worthy of such a vow. She threw herself into
charity work, including a treacherous trip to Sarajevo to support our
troops, and many hours of participation in the National Breast Cancer
Coalition. Her humanitarian efforts would result in a prestigious award
from the Harvard foundation for intercultural and Race relations, an
honor that moved Halle to tears when she received it.
After Halle’s nasty divorce, she had the full support of the media,
and she bounced back, resuming her hectic film career and revisiting
television. She is an inspiration to everyone who’s ever survived an
acrimonious divorce. Halle’s recent films have been escapist fare like
Executive Decision (1996) and the hilarious comedy B.A.P.S. (1997), with
the exception of her appearance in this year’s scratching political
satire Bulworth with Warren Beatty. She takes on an ever juicer
three-dimensional role in the movie, Why Do Fools Fall in Love? ,
costarring Vivica Fox and Lela Rochan. Halle’s most exciting new
product fulfills a lifelong dream of hers-in conjunction with HBO, she
will produce and star in The Dorothy Dandridge Story, a biography about
the star of the classic 1954 musical Carmen Jones who died tragically at
41 in the 60s. Just as several top Black actresses quarreled for the
rights to play Josephine Baker, Halle is rushing her project out ahead
of any potential studio releases, including a proposed Dandridge film
starring Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston.
Halle’s booming popularity also led to her multi-million dollar
contract with Revlon, which has splashed her pretty face [world-wide] in
a series of eye-catching print ads. But no matter how good she looks,
Halle’s fans know that her beauty is just a reflection of the kind of
inner beauty that fuels icons.
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Halle Berry
Occupation
- Actress
Date of Birth
- 14 August 1966
Birth Place
- Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Mailing
Addresses
Halle
Berry
1122 S Robertson Blvd. #15
Los Angeles, CA 90035
USA
- Show me on the map
c/o WMA
151 El Camino Dr.
Bevery Hills, CA 90212
USA
- Show me on the map
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